San Francisco Business Times: “The tide is turning for affordable housing”

It’s no secret that the Bay Area has a housing crisis. Business leaders have long identified housing affordability as a top issue for the region’s growth, citing challenges in retaining and recruiting talent. Our lack of affordable housing is forcing our innovative workforce farther from job centers and our vulnerable communities from their networks of support.

One of the chief drivers of our housing crisis has been the dramatic decrease of affordable housing funding, even as needs have grown. “Since 2000, Californians’ median rent increased by more than 25 percent,” said Matt Schwartz, CEO and president of California Housing Partnership. “At the same time, wages have not only not kept up, they’ve actually declined — all while state and federal funding has dropped precipitously.”

But a new movement of support has led to critical first steps of progress and continues to build momentum for future opportunities and bold action to re-invest in our communities.

Here are five trends that demonstrate that our region is poised for action and primed for progress…